Jefferson Rotunda - UVa
‘Thomas Jefferson Stole Native Land’
- Another Fractured Fairy Tale From the Left
(Fourth in the "Shining City" Series)
by Robert L. Pyles, MD
March 2024
Another of the charges leveled by the Progressive Left at Thomas Jefferson is that he “Stole the land” for the University of Virginia from the Native American tribes who owned it.
The facts, as usual, are quite different. Quite a number of years before the establishment of the University, the Monacan Indian tribe had a somewhat scattered presence in the central Virginia area. However, the members of this tribe had, sometime before, begun to move westward and then southward to their present location, south and west of Charlottesville, a place called Bear Mountain near Lynchburg. The center of the population of the tribe has long since settled there. They also have a heritage center called the Monacan Ancestral Museum.
The Encyclopedia of Virginia stated that the land for the University of Virginia in fact had come from “James Monroe’s cornfields.”
Wikipedia states that the University of Virginia “stands on land purchased in 1788 by American Revolutionary War veteran and fifth President, James Monroe”. The Board of Visitors voted to purchase 43 ¾ acres from Monroe in 1817. Monroe actually continued to live on the land for a time, and also had his law office there, which still stands. In fact, there is a section of the UVA campus still known as “Monroe Hill.” Monroe continued to live there until he built his later estate home, “Ash Lawn,” in 1799, adjacent to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
The only presence of the Monacan Indians at the time when these transactions took place was a small village five miles north of Charlottesville, in what is known as 29 North, on the shores of the Rivanna River.
It would certainly seem that the idea that Jefferson “stole” the land from Native Americans has little or no substance in reality. It would appear to be yet one more attempt by the Progressive Left to trash the character and legacy of Jefferson.
Another such charge occurred recently, when the statue of Lewis and Clark and their Indian guide, Sacajawea, was removed from an area near the University grounds. The idea was that this statue represented yet one more assault by Jefferson on Native Americans. What actually happened was that When Jefferson was President, he had authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Northwest Territory. This allowed the “Louisiana Purchase” to take place during Jefferson’s presidency, which doubled the size of the country. In purchasing the land from France, Jefferson forced himself to overcome his own principles about keeping the power of the President to a minimum, and made the decision by Executive Order. If Jefferson had not made that move, the country would never have obtained the size, stature, and sense of greatness that it has. Many scholars have referred to the “Louisiana Purchase” as “Jefferson’s noble bargain.”
As president, as well as afterwards, Jefferson made every effort to make peace with, and accommodate, the Native American tribes encountered by Lewis and Clark on their journey west. He also continued those efforts to protect Native American tribes and to mediate peace agreements between settlers and the tribes as westward settlement began.
Bottom line: For Monticello, Jefferson’s “Little Mountain”, he built his masterpiece on the summit of a small mountain, overlooking the place of his birth. He utilized a 5000 acre tract of land inherited from his father.
For the construction of the Rotunda and the Academic Village of the University of Virginia, Jefferson utilized 43 ¾ acres the Board of Visitors had purchased from the farm of James Monroe.
No known Native land, even historical land, was used in either case.
References:
1. Wikipedia - “An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings”- Research conducted for the Ash Lawn-Highland Museum and the Institute of Public History of the University of Virginia in 1998.
2. Encyclopedia Virginia - This is an online historical resource supplied by the Commonwealth of Virginia. To access this information, cite “University of Virginia”.
__________________________
Among other credits, Dr. Pyles served as President of the American Psychoanalytic Association and was awarded the honor of “Distinguished Life Fellow” of the American Psychiatric Association.
- Another Fractured Fairy Tale From the Left
(Fourth in the "Shining City" Series)
by Robert L. Pyles, MD
March 2024
Another of the charges leveled by the Progressive Left at Thomas Jefferson is that he “Stole the land” for the University of Virginia from the Native American tribes who owned it.
The facts, as usual, are quite different. Quite a number of years before the establishment of the University, the Monacan Indian tribe had a somewhat scattered presence in the central Virginia area. However, the members of this tribe had, sometime before, begun to move westward and then southward to their present location, south and west of Charlottesville, a place called Bear Mountain near Lynchburg. The center of the population of the tribe has long since settled there. They also have a heritage center called the Monacan Ancestral Museum.
The Encyclopedia of Virginia stated that the land for the University of Virginia in fact had come from “James Monroe’s cornfields.”
Wikipedia states that the University of Virginia “stands on land purchased in 1788 by American Revolutionary War veteran and fifth President, James Monroe”. The Board of Visitors voted to purchase 43 ¾ acres from Monroe in 1817. Monroe actually continued to live on the land for a time, and also had his law office there, which still stands. In fact, there is a section of the UVA campus still known as “Monroe Hill.” Monroe continued to live there until he built his later estate home, “Ash Lawn,” in 1799, adjacent to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
The only presence of the Monacan Indians at the time when these transactions took place was a small village five miles north of Charlottesville, in what is known as 29 North, on the shores of the Rivanna River.
It would certainly seem that the idea that Jefferson “stole” the land from Native Americans has little or no substance in reality. It would appear to be yet one more attempt by the Progressive Left to trash the character and legacy of Jefferson.
Another such charge occurred recently, when the statue of Lewis and Clark and their Indian guide, Sacajawea, was removed from an area near the University grounds. The idea was that this statue represented yet one more assault by Jefferson on Native Americans. What actually happened was that When Jefferson was President, he had authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Northwest Territory. This allowed the “Louisiana Purchase” to take place during Jefferson’s presidency, which doubled the size of the country. In purchasing the land from France, Jefferson forced himself to overcome his own principles about keeping the power of the President to a minimum, and made the decision by Executive Order. If Jefferson had not made that move, the country would never have obtained the size, stature, and sense of greatness that it has. Many scholars have referred to the “Louisiana Purchase” as “Jefferson’s noble bargain.”
As president, as well as afterwards, Jefferson made every effort to make peace with, and accommodate, the Native American tribes encountered by Lewis and Clark on their journey west. He also continued those efforts to protect Native American tribes and to mediate peace agreements between settlers and the tribes as westward settlement began.
Bottom line: For Monticello, Jefferson’s “Little Mountain”, he built his masterpiece on the summit of a small mountain, overlooking the place of his birth. He utilized a 5000 acre tract of land inherited from his father.
For the construction of the Rotunda and the Academic Village of the University of Virginia, Jefferson utilized 43 ¾ acres the Board of Visitors had purchased from the farm of James Monroe.
No known Native land, even historical land, was used in either case.
References:
1. Wikipedia - “An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings”- Research conducted for the Ash Lawn-Highland Museum and the Institute of Public History of the University of Virginia in 1998.
2. Encyclopedia Virginia - This is an online historical resource supplied by the Commonwealth of Virginia. To access this information, cite “University of Virginia”.
__________________________
Among other credits, Dr. Pyles served as President of the American Psychoanalytic Association and was awarded the honor of “Distinguished Life Fellow” of the American Psychiatric Association.